North West Christmas convo: Nick Taylor of Silva Timber Products

Christmas is almost upon us and it’s been a well and truly exciting year for the North West business community.

With many of the region’s businesspeople no doubt looking forward to grabbing a glass of wine and putting their feet up, allowing themselves to slip into a post-roast dinner snooze while pretending to listen to the kids, at Bdaily we thought we’d bring you closer to the personalities behind some of the North West’s most exciting enterprises.

Today’s festive catchup is with Nick Taylor, managing director of Widnes-based timber firm Silva Timber Products.

What did your business achieve in 2015?

By the end of the year, our sales will have exceeded those of 2014 by about 20%. We’ve also recruited some great people to help us grow further in the future. We opened a superb new showroom at our Widnes HQ and we have invested in new vehicles, handling and storage facilities to enable us to serve our customers better.

What were some of the bigger challenges you faced this year?

As the company grows, we’ve needed to increase our capacity for storing the volume of timber that we are now handling. We’ve had to be creative with our existing warehouse space and spend a considerable amount of time researching new premises in the South to meet these demands.

Does your business have anything exciting planned for 2016?

We are moving our southern office into new premises in London in January, so we’ll be holding a lot more stock and offering a much better service to customers in the South East. We also have a number of new products in the pipeline.

Do you find any other North West businesses or their owners inspiring? If so, who?

Hout Design, which is based in Cumbria and is run by a really talented craftsman called Sjouke Minkema. He makes beautiful bespoke contemporary wooden furniture.

Give us one tip for a budding entrepreneur

Have passion for your business and its product, along with self-belief and determination. Don’t just leap in. Spend time researching and preparing your business plan.

Where’s your favourite village/town/city in the North West, besides where you live?

As I live in the Lake District, I need a big city fix every now and again. I love going into Manchester to see live bands and comedy, and to generally soak up the great vibe in the city.

What would be your dream job?

I love the timber industry, but if I had to do something else I’d like to be an artisan baker or a brewer of craft ales.

Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

Bob Dylan’s version of O Come, All Ye Faithful on his Christmas in the Heart album. As soon as the festive season kicks off, this album hits my turntable and stays there until the New Year – it drives my family nuts!

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